


Ocean Waves

by MadeofValor



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Amputee Peridot (Steven Universe), Childhood Friends, Demigods, F/F, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-21 13:17:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9550709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadeofValor/pseuds/MadeofValor
Summary: Lapis and Peridot had been the best of friends since they were little, they meant everything to each other. One day Lapis left without any warning or trace to be found. Ten years later, they're reunited when Lapis comes asking for help.





	1. Days of Childhood

**Author's Note:**

> So, um, yeah. Just an AU idea I got, I hope you guys like it. Tell me what you think, good or bad.

Peridot Diamond was, to put it in a blunter way of phrasing, bored out of her mind. The eleven-year-old was slumped over in her desk as she listened to the teacher droning on and on about math formulas that she, being the A-plus student she was and generally much more intelligent than her classmates, in her own egotistic opinion, was already well versed in and mastered. This felt like baby work for her and all she wanted was to go home and watch a few episodes of Camp Pining Hearts before the season three finale aired today.

Glancing down at her notebook, she began scribbling into the pages to appear to be paying attention. Most of it consisting of ‘Clod’ on an almost endless loop. There were several little poor quality doodles of Percy and Pierre together along with her own anime-styled OC’s in just as awful quality, though to Peridot they were masterpieces that ought to be in a museum. 

The saving grace of the day was when the bell rang. Peridot never packed her bag so fast in her life before. In no time at all she was out the door and into the crowded halls of Empire City Middle School, home of the Emperors. What lame mascot idea. Their city was called ‘Empire City’ and their mascot was an emperor. Oh, ha, ha. To put it simply, Peridot wasn’t to amused by it.

She grimaced as she saw the pack of students grow denser up ahead as she neared the stairs. There was no way someone like her, who was shorter than most of them, would be able to push her way through and get past the horde. But, she could try. Swallowing her pride, Peridot marched forward, offering only brief ‘sorry’s’ as she tried to shove past the students around her.

A hand suddenly grabbed her by the shoulder and Peridot found herself being yanked backward towards the lockers.

“H-hey!” She squawked indignantly as she was ripped from the crowd, jerking her head over to glare at the one responsible. Her gaze softened from pure annoyance and infuriation to mild irritation as she saw the taller Hawaiian-born schoolmate and her best friend (Read: Only friend). “Lazuli!” she grouched.

A grin far too big on her freckled face was what Peridot got in return as Lapis laughed lightly, “Hey, I saw you in the currents, so I figured I would fish you out of there so I wouldn’t need to track you down later,” she defended easily. Lapis Lazuli was two years older than Peridot and already thirteen, and was a grade ahead of her. She was rather popular among her own classmates and quite athletic in swimming and baseball, not someone that one would imagine spending every day hanging out with their schools most egotistic nerd. Despite that, the two were extremely close friends, probably the best example of an amazing friendship this school had to offer.

It would also be a little bit of a lie to say Peridot didn’t have a small little crush on her best friend, and by small, she meant that she had multiple diary entries dedicated to Lapis.

“What’d you want?” Peridot asked as she adjusted her glasses which had gone a bit askew when Lapis pulled her out of the swarm of students, “Let me guess, help studying for a test?” she asked with a hint of a teasing grin on her face.

Lapis stuck her tongue out and gave her a semi-rough shove, “Ha, ha. I’ll have you know that I’m very confident on my upcoming test! I’ve been studying!”

“Really? Wow, the world must be ending or something.”

“Hey!”

The two held their gazes for a moment before breaking into laughter.  Lapis bent over a bit with little soft snorts escaping her while Peridot’s own infamous ‘Nyeheheheh!’ echoed around them. A few of their fellow students cast them curious looks as they passed but were ultimately ignored.

It took a couple of minutes before the laughter subsided and Lapis was brushing a few brown locks of hair out of her eyes. “All joking aside,” she began, her expression serious with a tight frown and brows furrowed, unable to make eye contact, and that alone was enough to get Peridot’s attention. Lapis only ever had that kind of expression when she had something important she wanted to say or do, but at the same time didn’t. It was the expression she wore when she broke the news that she lost Peridot’s pet hamster four years ago, sure they found Percy later that day hiding in a pile of discarded clothes, but at the time she told her, he was thought to be gone for good. “Peridot, there’s something I have to tell you.”

Peridot frowned herself, a concerned one as worry filled her eyes, “Sure, Laz. Is… is something wrong?” she asked tentatively.

“Not here, not now,” Lapis shook her head, glancing at the students around them. Too many people and not enough privacy, especially if whatever it was she had to say was of vital importance. Lapis pursed her lips and a moment later looked back at Peridot, “Can you meet me at the park after dinner?”

“Of course I can! But, seriously, are you okay?” not knowing what was going on was making Peridot more worried by the second.

But, Lapis just reverted back to her cheery self in seconds, nodding her head, “Course I am. It’s nothing bad,” she assured her with a smile that made it hard to tell if she was lying or being truthful. Peridot hoped she was telling the truth. Blinking, Lapis began digging into her jacket pocket, “I _almost_ forgot, but, I have something for you. Here!”

Out from her pocket, Lapis handed Peridot a button. A simple yellow button with a green triangle printed on it. Holding it in her own hand, Peridot gave Lapis a questioning look, but her friend just grinned, pleased with herself for the gift.

“I saw it and thought of you,” she explained to her, “Thought it might look nice among your collection of buttons,” Lapis added, gesturing to Peridots backpack that was almost completely covered in buttons of all kinds.

"Wow, thanks," Despite the dull way she said it, Peridot smiled as she added it to her collection.

A warning bell rang across the building causing both girls to jolt where they stood, staring wildly at the clock on the wall and realizing that the mass of students in the halls had thinned out considerably while they were talking. Roughly five minutes left until class would start.

"I've got to get to class," Lapis threw her bag onto her shoulder as she began backing away from Peridot. A grin splayed across her face as she shot finger guns at the short blonde, "I'll see you after dinner, don't be late!"

Peridot only gave her a half wave as the Hawaiian backed away and then turned, taking off running. When her friend was gone, Peridot also began hurrying down the other end of the hall to get to class. She had best not be late, Miss. Diopside tended to be quite a hardass to students, especially when they were tardy. Didn't help that the class was on the different side of the building. All the while as she practically ran in the halls, Peridot couldn't help but to wonder what it was that Lapis had to tell her that was so important. 

She hoped that it wasn't something bad. 

 

Hours later would find Peridot sitting on a swingset, rocking back and forth idly as she waited. The clear skies of the afternoon had given way to dark storm clouds as a heavy rain fell over the city. It was bad and it was hard to see all that far ahead of her. Already tiny lakes were forming on sidewalks and street curbs. Peridot's mother would have a fit if she knew that Peridot was outside in this, but, the small blonde had gotten away with it by telling her that she'd gone over to hang with Lapis. Not a  _complete_ lie, just a lie by omission since she never did say that it would take place indoors.

Besides, Peridot rather liked the rain.

Her umbrella was on the ground by her feet and rainwater dropped down from her hood onto her face. But, Peridot didn't mind as she continued to swing on the swings patiently, listening to the sound of the wind and heavy rain pattering against the playground equipment. She'd come to the park early, just in case. Usually, there were others there too, younger kids and families just playing and having a fun time. 

Lapis and Peridot came to the park often themselves to goof off. It was close enough to both of their houses to serve as a midway point for the two of them. It was also close by an ice cream parlor that the two girls often frequented for their weekly dose of ice cream headaches. As she kicked at the muddy grown beneath her, Peridot fished out her phone from her pocket and flipped it open. Her contact list was painfully small; family mostly with just a couple of friends. She didn't have any missed calls or new texts from Lapis.

Maybe Lapis was just running late. It  _was_ raining pretty hard, but she would have told her if she couldn't make it because of it. 

Peridot pursed her lips as she looked around the park again, but no sign of her tall brown haired friend was to be seen anywhere. She hadn't forgotten, had she? Sure, Lapis could be a little forgetful, but, there was no way she could forget this. Right?

The girl waited a little bit longer. Had it been a few minutes, half an hour? She wasn't sure, but what she was certain about was that the chill of the rain was causing her body to start to go numb. 

"Sorry, Lapis, but whatever you have to tell me can wait for tomorrow," Peridot mumbled as she hopped off the swing. Her clothes were thoroughly soaked after waiting so long in the rain, her umbrella wouldn't help anything when she was already drenched head to toe, so she just held onto it at her side as she started walking out of and away from the park. Lapis was getting an earful from her tomorrow if she wound up sick.

As she started down the sidewalk, Peridot withdrew her cell from her pocket. It was a little wet, but otherwise in pretty good shape. Flipping it open, she dialed Lapis number and held it to her ear as she continued walking. The rain was starting to come down heavier than before, she could barely see two feet ahead of herself. Wouldn't be surprising if it started hailing along with the roaring thunder and flashes of lightning.

The phone rang a few times before giving a long beep,  _"We're sorry. But the number you have dialed has been disconnected or is no longer in service. If you feel you have reached this recording in error, please check the number and try your call again."_

Peridot's face scrunched up in confusion as the intercept message reached her. That was... beyond strange. Maybe she typed in the wrong number? As she started crossing the street, Peridot looked down at her phone, rubbing the water away from the screen as best she could to try and see what numbers were put in. It looked like the right numbers, Lapis hadn't changed her number, maybe she turned off her phone or forgot to charge it? Not deterred, she brought up her contacts list and tried again.

As she brought her ringing phone to her ear, she was rewarded with a bright light and loud screech before she was knocked to the ground.

Something hard and heavy was on her now, and she was numb to everything but the pain that followed without hesitation. Her head was spinning and pain pulsing through her body. She could hear voices come up and people around her, but it sounded like it was underwater. Her phone clattered beside her head when she hit the ground, the ringing stopping as the interception message spoke up again.

 


	2. Ten Years Still Bitter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be posted by yesterday at the latest, but some complications arose. Sorry about that.

“Yo, P!”

At the sudden and hard slap to the back, Peridot jolted from her seat, nearly dropping the textbooks and notebooks she’d been working on for studying. Fumbling to straighten her glasses, the blonde quickly turned around on the couch to glare at her housemate with a look of irritation, mouth drawn in a frown, “Amethyst, I told you not to do that when I’m studying!” she complained as Amethyst walked around the couch and threw herself on the other end, tossing her legs onto Peridot’s lap.

“Can you blame me? Seeing you jump like that every time is hilarious,” the Latina woman grinned, reaching over to grab a handful of Doritos from the bag Peridot had beside her. “Besides, you should be thanking me. Why would you want to bother studying when you can spend time hanging out with me?”

Narrowing her eyes, Peridot flipped back to her original page, trying to find where she’d left off at, “Why? Because I want to pass college.” At that, Amethyst let out a long laugh with a few teasing ‘nerd’ remarks as she reached around for a remote. Peridot waited until the TV was on and Amethyst flipped the channel to some wrestling match before speaking up again, “So, where were you and Jasper last night, anyways?” she asked as she scrawled a few notes in her notebook, glancing between it and the textbook. The sisters had up and vanished sometime late into the evening yesterday and hadn’t gotten back until sometime in the late morning. Not that it was uncommon, Jasper and Amethyst did that roughly once or twice a month, and despite having lived with the two for almost a year and knowing them since attending college, she still never knew where the two went off to.

Amethyst shrugged as she munched loudly on the chips, “Oh, you know, hanging out with the pack,” she replied offhandedly.

The pack, their, as in Jasper and Amethysts, group of close friends. She’d seen and met a few of them, most of them were as wild as the two sisters were. Personally, Peridot didn’t want to know what they got up to at the middle of the night, at least not in details. She knew it wasn’t drugs or something of the sort; Jasper and Amethyst were both pretty strongly against that stuff since their mom had been an addict when they were growing up. But, Jasper did already have a record for crime, so Peridot worried.

“You guys aren’t getting into any trouble, are you?” she asked looking at Amethyst as though they didn’t have this same conversation every time it happened.

The darker skinned woman just laughed, gently nudging her with a foot that was still on Peridot’s lap, “Man, Peri, you worry too much,” she grinned, “Jasp and I are fine, we aren’t out robbing banks or breaking into cars if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Excuse me for wanting to make sure my friends are safe,” Peridot drawled dryly, shooting a glare at her best friend. Gathering her things, she shoved the bare feet off her lap so she could stand up from the couch, “TV and couch are yours, I’m going to continue studying up in my room,” she announced.

“M’kay, don’t overcook that brain of yours with all those readings,” Amethyst called as Peridot went up the stairs of the rented house.

Once inside the safety of her room with the door shut, she could hear the wrestling match become louder as Amethyst no doubt cranked the volume up to a much higher decimal. She dropped her notebook and textbook onto her desk and sat down on her chair, spinning around in it a couple of times as she kicked her leg a little to stretch it out before leaning forward and working on the straps of her other leg.

Silly as it may be, despite knowing Amethyst and Jasper for a couple of years now and even living with them, she never really felt all that comfortable having her leg off in front of them or in places where they could easily walk in and see, such as the living room. But, in the privacy of her own bedroom, she had the sense of comfort in not having to feel the embarrassment or shame of unwanted gazes at the stump that ended right below her right knee.

Moving the prosthetic to rest under her desk, Peridot massaged the amputated limb to help the blood flow a bit better. It always got a little achy after periods of time in the prosthetic, little breaks with it off to let the limb breathe helped.

Her memory of what happened the night she lost her leg was all a rushed blur. It had been raining hard and she’d been crossing the street. Everything about that night afterward was just hot pain coursing through her body. She had gotten hit pretty badly, a few fractures, but the worst of it all was her leg was damaged badly; crushed to be more specific. Doctors couldn’t save it so off it went.

Sometimes, Peridot wanted to blame Lapis what happened. The only reason she’d been out that night ten years ago was because she’d been waiting for Lapis at her request, waiting in the freezing cold rain without even a text or call that Lapis wasn’t going to make it. She wanted to blame her for it sometimes, but, Lapis had no control over the situation.

But, Peridot was still a bit bitter about everything after that. Specifically, Lapis and her family moving out of town the very next day without a word of warning or even a goodbye. Peridot didn’t even get to see Lapis or hear from her. She still hadn’t heard a word from her since, the last time they saw or spoke being in the halls when they were in middle school.

Seriously, it wouldn’t have hurt her to call Peridot up and maybe just say ‘Hi, sorry I’m cutting all ties with you, goodbye’. Okay, so it would have hurt Peridot, but, hey at least she would have gotten something of a goodbye than the Lazuli family moving and leaving without a trace. Lapis hadn’t even given any hints that she was moving.  At least, none that Peridot noticed, and, she would have noticed. She may have been only eleven at the time, and not the best at reading others body language, but she wasn't an idiot; if her best friend had done anything to suggest moving away, she would have caught onto it, or at least been a bit suspicious.

Despite it having been ten years now, Peridot was still a bit bitter over her best friend and former crush up and leaving without a word.

Oh well, who needed friends like that anyways? Peridot was better off now; working her second year at university, already living away from her mother with two rather great, if not somewhat troublesome friends. She even had herself a job on campus with the tech team. So what if her best friend during childhood moved away, that was in the past and Peridot was someone who focused only on the present and future!

Right now, her future was filled with textbooks and review papers...

Peridot was jolted out of her thoughts when the familiar tune from Camp Pining Hearts filled the room. The simple trumpet noise that started each day at the camp which alerted her of an incoming call. She swiped her phone off of the desk and brought it up to look at the screen. She saw the image before she saw the name; a tall, well-built latina woman with pale streaks across her skin and amber eyes like a tigers. Jasper. She pressed the green answer button and brought her phone to her ear.

"Hey."

_"Hey, Peridot,"_ Jasper returned her greeting from the other end. Peridot could faintly make out the noise in the background of metal clanking and laughter. It wasn't hard to guess where she was,  _"Is it cool if I score a ride from you?"_

Jaspers, and by extension, Amethyst, car was currently in the shop undergoing some repairs for some pretty bad damage. Peridot had seen the car after it got towed; dents and scratches everywhere and a few broken windows. It was almost like some bear went crazy on it. Jasper explained that she'd parked it near a frat house, not aware they were having a wild party during one on the nights the sisters were out, and some drunk college kids saw the car and decided to have fun. She'd been bumming rides off Peridot and other friends since then since the car was going to be in the shop for a while longer.

"Eh, sure. What time do you want me to come for you?" Despite the crap she might give Amethyst now and then, Peridot would love to get away from studying for a little bit. 

_"Can you come over right now? Sorry if it's a bit sudden."_

"No, it's cool. Are you at the usual gym?" Peridot asked as she reached over to grab her prosthetic out from under her desk. Jasper made a noise of agreement, "I can be there in ten."

_"Thanks, Peridot. You're a life saver. I'll see you in a few."_

"Bye." With that, she hung up and slipped her phone into a pocket before working to get her leg on right. It didn't take long and soon she was going back down the stairs with keys in hand. She slipped past the couch and glanced at Amethyst who was pretty enthralled in the match, "Hey, Ame. I'm heading out to pick Jasper up, be back in a bit."

Her friend held up a hand in a lazy wave, "See ya, P. Don't fall down the steps again."

"That happened once, you can let it go."

She muffled the laughter behind a closed door and let out a sigh of exasperation. You fall one time and you're never allowed to forget. 

 

The drive itself wasn't all that long, and like she'd said, it had taken roughly ten minutes before she was parked outside of the gym. She would have waited, but, Peridot knew better than to expect Jasper to be ready to go without some kind of prompting. So, she had her car turned off and locked up as she headed inside the gym.

It was one of the free membership ones, so no one stopped her from entering the gym and the man at the front desk gave her a polite nod as she slipped past him. She had a general idea of where Jasper would be hanging out at, there were really only two rooms that she usually used; the weights room or the... Peridot wasn't actually sure what it was called. It was the room with the treadmills and bikes and similar equipment. There was also a pool in the gym, but Jasper didn't swim much. 

In all honesty, Peridot hated being in the gym. The smell of sweat was overpowering and made her nose wrinkle up in disgust. But, somehow Jasper and Amethyst just  _thrived_ in this kind of environment, filled with sweaty bodies and people panting and grunting. Actually... knowing the two of them, of course they would love a place filled with that. 

At first Peridot went to go check out the equipment room for her friend and roommate. Slipping into the spacious room, it only took a single sweeping glance to know that Jasper wasn't in there. It wasn't hard to miss the woman. Even without her size, the white hair was an easy identifier. Didn't matter how many people were in a room, Jasper was easy to spot. But, at least now the locations were narrowed down.

Slipping back into the hall, Peridot began her way towards the weights room located on the far side of the gym. Just as she was walking, a figure sprinted out from one of the locker rooms she was passing. Knocking straight into Peridot and nearly sending them both tumbling down.

Peridot would have fallen to the ground had arms not wrapped around her, keeping her standing in an almost dip like position. Blinking, she looked up at the other and found herself meeting deep blue eyes.

"Oh, um, sorry about that," The woman apologized as she helped steady Peridot, letting go when she was sure the blonde would stay standing. The had a light tan tone to her skin and probably the bluest of blues for her hair, it was also damp and Peridot could smell the faint scent of chlorine on her. Probably just out of the gym's pool. "Guess I was in a bit too much of a hurry."

Peridot shook her head, "No, it's okay. No harm done, right?" she said with an easy smile. 

The stranger nodded, but her eyes were studying Peridot, and for what reason, the blonde wasn't sure. What she did know was that it made her feel a bit uncertain. She cast a glance to the side.

"But, I should probably continue going, I'm trying to find a friend, pick them up and all that," Peridot explained as she took a small step back.

As though right on cue, the large woman who could easily be mistaken for a champion for pro bear wrestling stepped out of the locker room, damp towel around her broad shoulders. "Peridot, should have texted me that you were here," Jasper said as she ran a hand through her long mane.

"P-Peridot?" she heard the bluenette repeat in a whisper from the side, but Peridot paid no heed.

"Like you would have noticed," she shot back with feigned annoyance, poking Jasper in the chest with a finger, "When I told you I'd be here in ten, you should have been ready and waiting for me before I got here."

But Jasper just shrugged, amber eyes glanced at the stranger Peridot had run into and narrowed, the light glare was returned back at her. Peridot could easily feel the air of animosity between them, but shrugged it off as some squabble they might have had or fight. Jasper tended to get into arguments with other gym members and quite frequently. 

"Let's get going, pipsqueak. I'm sure if we wait any longer, Amethyst will have eaten all the food in the fridge," Jasper was already moving forward and Peridot scrambled to follow. 

Glancing back at the woman, Peridot found that she was still watching them, or to be specific, the blonde. Quickly she looked back to her friend, "If she does, you're paying to restock the fridge."

"Fat chance."


End file.
